The contiguous United States recorded its hottest month in more than a century of recordkeeping in July, surpassing a temperature record set during the Dust Bowl era, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The average temperature across the Lower 48 states was 76.89 degrees Fahrenheit in July, edging past the previous record set in July 1936 by about one-eighth of a degree. NOAA’s national temperature records date to 1895.
Above-average temperatures stretched across the country, with every state in the contiguous U.S. averaging at least 1 degree warmer than its 20th-century July average. Some of the most extreme heat was recorded in the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains and Southeast. Alaska, however, experienced unusually cool conditions during the month.
The record also reflects more than soaring daytime temperatures. NOAA calculates monthly averages using temperatures throughout the entire day, meaning increasingly warm nights contributed to July’s record.
Climate scientists have warned that high overnight temperatures can be particularly dangerous because people have less opportunity to recover from daytime heat. Persistent nighttime heat can increase overall heat stress and pose greater risks to people without adequate air conditioning.
July’s record comes as extreme heat continues to affect large portions of the U.S. and other parts of the world. About 97 million Americans were under heat advisories in mid-August as another round of oppressive temperatures and high humidity spread across the Southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley.
Scientists largely attribute the long-term rise in extreme temperatures to human-caused climate change, particularly greenhouse gas emissions produced by burning fossil fuels. Unlike the 1936 record, when severe drought and damaging agricultural practices contributed to extraordinary Dust Bowl temperatures, the latest record comes amid a broader warming trend.
The heat could intensify further as El Niño strengthens. NOAA said El Niño conditions are present and are expected to persist and strengthen into the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2026-27.
Despite July’s record, the summer as a whole has not yet broken the U.S. record. The summers of 2021 and 1936 remain tied as the hottest on record, according to NOAA data.
